~ Lynn Hones Books & Blog

I’m so happy to have you here at my blog this week, Corrine. Please excuse the mess, and simply put your feet up and tell us a little about your favorite parts…of your books that is. lol

Thank you for having me here today, Lynn! I’m looking forward to sharing some of my favourite moments from a couple of my books.

There are a lot of moments in Caress of Fur that I enjoyed writing. Mai spends so much of her energy battling fear and panic attacks, I couldn’t’ wait for her to have a bit of fun in her life. Sometimes the best “light bulb” moments happen during the silliest moments. For Mai she has no idea that the man she’s with at a petting zoo is a shapeshifter.

They strolled through High Park, stopping at the petting zoo the park sponsored. He paid for some feed, and the two of them faced the ravages of crazed goats to feed them. Mai couldn’t remember a time she laughed so much.

That funniest part was the goats kept running away from him and would surround her. She tried to hand him the food, but they scattered no matter what they did. “What’s your cologne, Eau de Predator?” Mai teased him as the goats stampeded away from him for the fourth time. The look of surprise on his face made her laugh even harder.

“All right that’s enough.”

Mai’s world literally turned upside down when he bent down and scooped her up over his shoulder as if she didn’t weigh a thing.

“Ah!” She laughed and smacked him on the lower back. “Put me down, you Neanderthal.” She braced her hands on his back and tried to wriggle free, but he clamped a strong arm around her legs. “You might be able to intimidate the poor, helpless goats, but you don’t scare me.” That realization stuck in her head for a moment, making her heart skip a beat. I’m not afraid of him. She waved to the petting zoo attendant who opened the gate and let them out…

Steam Powered Passion was my first foray into the world of Steampunk. I’ve always loved historical romance and in this genre I could also incorporate all sorts of fun things like flying ships and pirates. In this book, Tori has been abducted from her ship and is about to find out that the man she loved and believed dead, is very much alive. Her reaction is not what I or Sean expected proof that I don’t have as much control over my characters as I like to believe. J

“Hello, Tori.”

Sean expected his presence would be a bit of a shock to her. What he didn’t expect was for her to spin around and point a gun at his head. Feeling Mal’s body tense behind him, he reached back with his good hand and placed it on his lover’s thigh, hoping that Mal would

understand the message and not charge her. Mal tended to be overprotective at times, and Tori wouldn’t really shoot him. I hope.

“Where the hell did she get a gun?”

“That particular one?” Sean recognized the small, modified derringer. He spent weeks working on it so it would fit her hand and be easily hidden. “I believe I gave it to her for her sixteenth birthday.”

At the time, she was thrilled with the gift and insisted that he teach her how to use it. He taught her a lot over the years, almost as much as she taught him. But then, that was a long time ago.

“My god, Sean! What are you doing here? You’re dead.”

“No, I can assure you, I’m very much alive, and I work on this ship. Tori, I can’t believe it’s really you after all these years.” He stepped forward, and she lowered the gun a couple feet down, pointing it directly at his groin. He much preferred the idea of a head shot.

“Don’t think the history between us will prevent me from squeezing the trigger.”

This is an unedited blurb from my next book Surrounded by Fur. (It will be available from Siren Publishing on Aug 17th.) River Reynard and Lars are best friends and snip at each other like siblings and have made me laugh on more than on occasion while working on this story. When River starts to fall in love with Hugh, Boyd and Gavin McNamara, Lars takes every oppourtunity to tease her about it.

Lars stood there with a large fish in either hand looking at her like she was insane. “I called your name four times and you didn’t even blink. I thought you left and here you are staring at the door. If you wanted to leave with Gavin, I would’ve understood.”

“Are you nuts? No way. Bears are trouble, like worse than plundering Viking trouble.”

“Hey, we pillaged not plundered.” Lars mock glared at her and held up the fresh fishes. “Are you going to help me with these?”

River blinked at the massive lake trout. “Did you catch them?”

“Yup, held my hands out over the water and they jumped right in.” Lars rolled his eyes and headed out of the shop and into the back where his apartment was.

“Smart-ass.” River followed but glanced over her shoulder at the door one more time. Bears are dangerous. Something she was going to have to remind herself of a lot.

Thanks for stopping by and joining in one our fun. Be sure to visit the other stops on our blog tour! Each of us is offering up our favourite written moments in our books.

Don’t forget to make a comment at the bottom to be entered to win a book for this week’s draw and be entered for the grand prize, a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.

Hi Regina. It’s so nice of you to stop by my blog and introduce yourself to my readers. If you could organize a dinner party, which fictional characters (choose some from your own books too) would you invite and what would you cook?

It is a pleasure to be on your blog this week, Lynn! Such a great topic too. Very thought-provoking.

“If I could organize a dinner party, which fictional characters would I invite and what would I cook?”

Well, I am the sort who enjoys rather large dinner parties, say about 12 guests or so. But to be sure it’s not too large in this case I would choose six guests.

First I would invite Robinson Crusoe, an incredible individual with great instincts. It might be nice for him to mingle a bit. Next I would snatch the Count of Monte Cristo and have him relate how he pulled off that escape! Also fabulous would be Moll Flanders, who has so many experiences and always has something interesting to say. The next on my list would be the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. Huck Finn, for sure to comment on what’s happening to America today. In this midst of these famous characters, I would add in Haley Hawthorne, the heroine from my contemporary Inspirational romance, “In Good Faith”.

Each of these characters has journeyed on a path which has required them in some way to address the issue of faith in their lives and their worlds. So this might prove to be an interesting group!

For our menu, I would make them a great big, old-fashioned turkey dinner with all the fixings just like we have here in New England every Thanksgiving. It is the ultimate comfort food, very nourishing and has a lot of meaning as well. Perhaps the guests will share something they are thankful for in their lives as we chat, we shall see!

Haley Hawthorne is a successful Art Director at a high-powered greeting card company in Manhattan. Designer clothes and expensive material luxuries are what she uses to try and fill the emptiness inside — but it wasn’t always that way for her.

Orphaned at a young age, Haley was raised in rural Dunbar Falls by her Uncle Nelson amid pasture lands and a clear sense of the things that matter most in life, including her joyful relationship with God.

One day Aaron Carrier, her old friend from Dunbar Falls pays her a surprise visit to her office at Sterling Greeting Cards with devastating news about Uncle Nelson. When she returns home to Dunbar Falls, Haley is faced with a professional decision upon inheriting Uncle Nelson’s air-conditioning company. More than that, she faces a crossroads in her heart. It is a crisis of faith, of loyalty and of love.

What does God want her to do? Will she be able to return home to Dunbar Falls and all that it has meant for her? And will Aaron Carrier be more than a friend?

There will be a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift certificate awarded at the end of the tour. Enjoy the blogs and leave comments for the opportunity to be the grand prize winner. One entry ticket per comment!

Excerpt: “In Good Faith”

“Ms. Hawthorne, could you look at these proofs?”

“Do you have a minute to go over this copy together, Ms. Hawthorne?”

“A call for you from Grace on line three, Ms. Hawthorne!”

Haley Hawthorne tossed her long red curls over her shoulder as she swept through the Creative Area of Sterling Greeting Cards. She carried a designer bag in one hand and a steaming latté in the other.

As Senior Art Director for the largest greeting card company in the world, these early morning entrances refreshed her enough to get through the day ahead. They were her redemption. But I can remember a time when I didn’t feel like that, and it wasn’t so very long ago.

A hush fell over the flock of artists and interns following behind her as she passed. With a frown she accepted a stack of messages from the leathery, outstretched hands of her receptionist Bernice, a fixture at Sterling’s for over forty years.

“I’m already carrying too much, Bernice,” she murmured.

“There, there.” With a motherly pat, Bernice tucked the papers under Haley’s arm. “Toting a heavy load can weigh you down, Haley. Maybe it’s time to think about what you really need to carry and what you can let go.” She gave Haley a look.

“Maybe you’re right, Bernice.” As if I haven’t already tried! That’s what was keeping her awake most nights. The old Haley used to travel light and breezy, her heart and soul as free as a bird. But lately she felt heavy in her heart and she couldn’t put her finger on why. How had things changed so much?

Ignoring the chirp of her cell phone, Haley walked down the corridor to her office, glancing at the framed collections of award-winning cards on the walls and the shelves crowded with shining trophies she’d won over the years. When would she get a chance to start her own company?

The fact that all her talent was padding someone else’s profit column wasn’t the only thing bothering her these days. There was something else that had been nagging at her for some time now, an emptiness she couldn’t fill with work…or with her boyfriend, Derek, either. All she knew was that she had to get through each day.

Her young assistant, Suzie, unlatched the chrome double doors to her office for her and Haley flashed the smile that had been opening doors for her all her life.

She called over her shoulder, “I’ll get to all of you in a minute.” The entourage scattered, leaving her and Suzie in the peaceful calm of her office.

And then she saw him.

“Aaron Carrier! I can’t believe it! What are you doing here?”

She put down her bag and her coffee and reached her hands out to him after smoothing her lemon yellow designer suit.

She gave him a warm hug, then turned to her assistant.”I’ve known this guy since we were kids. He and his two brothers were like triplets, they were so alike. I’ll never forget when he insisted we start calling him Carrier, to be different from his brothers Adam and Austin. Boy, were they mad…”

With his broad, six-foot frame blocking the Manhattan skyline in the window behind him, Haley noticed how his glinting azure eyes and thick hair had grown more imposing in the ten years that had passed since she had last seen him.

He jammed his fists deep into the pockets of his jeans. “Hey. We have to talk, Haley. It’s about Nelson.”

Her heartbeat quickened. “You’ve come all the way here from Dunbar Falls to tell me something about Uncle Nelson?” She glanced at Suzie, then back at him. “It must be bad news.”

“I’ll have Bernice hold all of your calls.” Suzie hustled off in a cloud of expensive perfume, latching the door behind her with a solid ‘click’.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Carrier. Is it bad?”

“Yeah. The worst.”

“He’s -”

Carrier nodded. “Last night.” His piercing blue eyes, steely as two sapphires, searched her face. But they didn’t stop there; they burned into her soul.

My guest this week is author Regan Taylor. With the heatwave going on, I thought I’d ask her what she’s up to. Mostly, I wanted to know what a popular writer is reading. Say that five times fast. So Regan, what books are you bringing with you to the beach this summer and why?

Growing up summertime was my favorite time of year in part because school was out but more so summer reading. Without homework there was more time to read.

I’ve always been pretty introverted. People are always surprised when they hear that, but I am. It’s a struggle to talk to people and groups are major difficult times for me. As a child and young adult my happiest time were sitting in my room reading a book, any book. I poured through my father’s collection of world’s greatest literature and devoured Alexandre Dumas and the complete Charles Dickens. Reading opened up new worlds, new ideas and took me places I’d otherwise never get to go. Despite my mother’s penchant for trying to find friends for me (I really did have some I found on my own that I liked doing things with) one thing she did do that I enjoyed was every Wednesday night we went down to the library. I think it was because it was open late on Wednesday but I don’t remember anymore. All I know is Wednesday night was library night. Ironically now, as an adult, I generally find my way over to the San Francisco main library on Wednesday lunch hours. I could have worse habits, you know? Summer time meant more time to read.

Nowadays I have an hour or so commute each way to work which means at least 2 hours a day to engage in my favorite solitary pastime—reading. I average 3-4 books a week unless I’m digging into a long novel like Helen Hooven Santmyer’s AND THE LADIES OF THE CLUB at about 1,000 pages (Anyone else remember that book?) or one of W.E.B. Griffin’s stories. Lately I’ve become a bit of a cozy mystery addict and to feed that I’ve been finding some wonderful authors like Penny Warner and Victoria Laurie. Victoria Laurie’s Psychic Eye series is a major favorite. I’m dreading finishing the last in the series without the next one waiting for me. I have to wait till September for Penny Warner’s next Party Planning mystery, HOW TO DINE ON KILLER WINE, but I do have my next few Victoria Laurie’s Psychic Eye mysteries lined up and ready to read including her Ghost Hunter series (she has such a great writing voice).

I also picked up one of Katherine Hall Page’s mysteries, BODY IN THE BELFRY and BODY IN THE KELP because her premise intrigues me.

In preparation of Pamela Clare’s DEFIANT I’m rereading the first two in her MacKinnon’s Rangers series, SURRENDER and UNTAMED. While I enjoy her contemporary romantic suspense (I-Team series), I REALLY like her historicals. A couple of years ago I started to reread all my Rosemary Rogers’ books and on tap for this summer are MIDNIGHT LADY and ALL I DESIRE.

People who know me well know I’m not a fan of vampires and werewolves but I have gotten hooked on Lynsay Sands’ Argeneau series and plan to continue reading my way through them. (If you haven’t tried them, they are a hoot.)

Of course I need to write—writing becomes a part of you that you just can’t put aside. I will be finishing SAPPHIRE and anticipating the release of DEVIL’S DETAILS.

Thank you so much, Regan. I loved getting to know you a little better. As for the rest of you, let us know what you’re reading and why. We’d LOVE to hear from you. You’ll also be entered into our contest for our weekly prize and also it will give you a chance to win our grand prize of a $50.00 gift card to Amazon. Have a wonderful summer everyone and keep on reading!

I’m so excited to have you as my guest this week, Sue. I was hoping you could fill us in on one of the characters that has haunted you the most in your writing career.

Funny you should ask me about the character that haunted me because the other night at 3am – the witching hour for me – I awake to find a figure at the foot of my bed. You know how it is when you just wake up, you screw your eyes up to get a better look because you think you’re still dreaming. But this thing is real. I tell you, I haven’t seen skin that bad since the last Jurassic Park movie.

Its slobbery lips smile to reveal needle teeth, and, ugh, some kind of greenish gunk dripping off them. I press back against the headboard so none of it gets on me. “Are you going to kill me?” I stammer with, I’m ashamed to admit, a bit of a wimpy whine in my voice.

It reaches out a hairy gorilla-like paw and grips my jaw tightly. “I haven’t made my mind up,” it says in a voice that sounds like a creaking door. “But don’t worry, you won’t die for a long, long time.”

I close my eyes at the venom in its voice but when I find the courage to peek one open again, the thing has changed. In a matter of seconds it’s morphed into a person, a man. Tall, upright and slim, the image of my husband.

His handsome face breaks into a treasured smile, “Call me Felix,” he says in that much-loved voice, the look in his eye designed to set me on fire.

“But you’re not…” I look to my left at the sleeping form of my husband, snoring quietly, and then back at the creature trying to imitate him. “You’re not who you say you are.”

Felix frowns and another image is superimposed on top of the handsome one. Like someone pulling off a wrapper, the figure in front of me transforms once again into the slavering, suppurating creature. “And neither are you, despite what you think,” it creaks at me. “I need courageous souls, not a shivering coward like you.”

That’s a bit much, I think, lifting my chin in challenge. “And just why do you want people like that?”

Its thick scabby lips curl into a hideous grin. “Because they suffer more keenly and their fear is so much tastier than mere ordinary mortals’.”

As it speaks, its image fades until it disappears with hardly a displacement of air, leaving me to thank my stars that it discarded me as a mere ordinary mortal.

But Jude Elliot wasn’t so lucky. Check out his encounter with demon Slater the Prince of Envy in my new novel, Hewhay Hall (published April 2012 by Etopia Press)

Blurb: An unsung hero’s destiny–Slater’s house of horrors.

Fire-fighter Jude Elliott loses part of his leg trying to rescue a family held hostage during a terrorist attack. He journeys to mysterious Hewhay Hall, where it is told there are wondrous, magical cures. Little does Jude know that his destination is Slater The Prince of Envy’s lair where a demon resides and courageous souls are tormented… Can Jude escape Slater’s house of horrors, or will he suffer for all of eternity?

Blurb: Perfect Score is about the rite of passage of two young men, Alex and Sam, from the opposite side of the tracks. Alex lives in his uncle’s mansion, and while money and a stable future have been lined up for him by his powerful and withholding uncle, he wants nothing more than to be a song writer and to live happily ever after with Sam — a boy he met once when he was in his teens. Sam’s life is more wretched: he was abused, ran away from the fists of an abusive step-father and unstable foster homes, and lived most of his prepubescent and teen years in the streets, fending for himself and taking on as many jobs as he could to pay for his sister’s bills at the hospital for the crippled. Struggling to make sense of the two divergent lives they have been dealt, Alex and Sam find their way to one another through a journey full of boundless love and compassion, growth, and strength.

Hi Christine and welcome to my blog. This week I’d like to ask you about research, and perhaps have you tell us about an interesting time you’ve had of it.

A spoke off Leicester Square, London. I approached the Ivy restaurant with caution and delight. Online research gave statistics and photos, but nothing can equal being there. The Ivy, my research uncovered is a haunt of celebrity; it’s staff well trained in discretion. Cracking this nut was going to be tough. A year’s wait not uncommon for reservations, it is one of those places, low key, unpretentious, bland exterior—the stuff of incognito.

Perfect.

My novel required just such a place for its Hollywood actor to court his lady. A dark corner, discreet staff, no autograph seekers to interrupt.

I approached the first line of defense. The front podium interrogation station, an intimidating oval of walnut raising the stern-faced hostess with pasted-on smile above all. No magic password, I used the ‘author doing research’ story—fanning a handful of bookmarks to crack her reserve. My American accent charmed.

“You may go as far as the Maitre de station, centre of the dining room” A nod of her chin directed me onward through the beveled glass swinging doors.”

Lit like the vestibule of a church, stained glass kept prying eyes from gaining access to the diners identity and warmed the wood paneled, linen-dressed room in ancient reverence.

Voices, like the drone of bees, hushed upon my entrance. Cloaked gazes of interest and query met my decidedly displace presence. Though I wore classic denim and smart blazer, I still stood out as foreign, maybe a celeb? To pull out a camera at this point would probably be met with arrest, so memory would have to serve. Not unlike one of those life-altering moments when reality outdoes the imagined, I etched the room onto my internal tin-type, leaving the faces blank.

I got what I needed to make the high romance of my novel effective, the staff got a jolly good story about the author from “Los Angeleez” and my small entourage of friends waiting curbside snickered all the way to a local pub.

Christine, you’re wonderful. I enjoyed this story so much. Thank you for your time and this wonderful insight into what lengths authors will go in regards to their research.

Here are a couple of books by Christine that make good summer reads as well.

Reluctant Companions:

Grieving the loss of her beloved father, Chellie is convinced to take time off from her work-a day job to enjoy a secret retreat at a hidden Oahu bungalow. Property of the womanizing ex of her best friend, Chellie agrees only after being assured her privacy.

Overworked, burnt out and sour on life, Scottish film star Cameron McClain nearly had to be hog tied by his manager to take a holiday at his secret escape destination on the Hawaiian North shore. Two lonelypeople overwhelmed by life…same time, same gorgeous locale. Reluctant guests alone on one of the world’s most beautiful islands—except they are not alone….

Film student Faith Holmes is on an Italian holiday bought and paid for — a familial inducement to finding an Italian husband. She wants none of it. Boredom and curiosity make for a volatile mix and Faith is lured into the heart of the island of Forio’s exclusive international film festival not as guest, but crasher. Hollywood’s premiere publicist Hunter Jameson has more than enough on his plate when his client, English film sensation Alex Winslow decides he’s departing from the straight and narrow. One American party crasher should be the least of his worries. He has no idea that Alex’s growing feelings for Faith rival his own. The only thing for certain is his life will never be the same.

Lynn, thanks so much for offering me this opportunity to be featured on your lovely, informative blog. While I do hate the marketing side to writing, I do enjoy getting to meet new folks. I think a writer grows professional when they interface with other writers, but I think we might gain even more perspective on how our writing is perceived when we get feedback from a ‘new’ reader. So, I look forward to ‘meeting’ the folks who stop by your blog and do hope they’ll take the time to leave us a comment. Now, on to answer a few questions I’ve been asked over my years as a writer that may give insight as to what makes me tick.

Why did I choose to write in the historical romance genre?

Actually, my characters chose that genre for me. The four Farrell brothers from my first novel, ‘After the War, Before the Peace’, began appearing in my imagination years and years before I had any thoughts of writing a story, let alone a book. But they persisted and they became like family. One of my male readers tells me that he believes I’ve known this family in a past life due the depth of their characters that I’ve managed to capture. Then, ‘Abby-Finding More Than Gold’, came out a suggestions that I write what I know – Irish, Catholic upbringing, Chicago, travels across the Western mountain ranges and prairies, San Francisco and the Yukon. “Hannah’ started as a series of short stories resulting from the prompt ‘a cloud of dust in the distance’ from a writer’s group that I worked with.

What is your favorite curse word?

Piffle. I use it more often these days, because my 12 year-old grandson gets a kick out that word. He always teases me about being old fashioned when I use it. As for other curse words, I try to limit them. That doesn’t me that I shy away from them when something happens to one of my characters. For instance, in my gay/sci-fi novel, ‘Regardless’, set in the 23rd century, curse words are very rarely used or acceptable in society. But, one of the main characters uses the ‘F’ word as an adjective to make a strong point when he is being kept from getting involved in a search for his lover who has been pronounced dead. His emotional state would not bring him to say, ‘those annoying directives …’. So, I do drop an ‘F’ bomb now and then, but I think they are more effective when not overused.

What am I reading this summer?

I belong to a book club when we chose an author to review rather than a particular book. I just finished reading Robert Ludlum, a genius at working in a number of subplots to enhance his espionages. Right now I’m reading Cormac McCarthy. While his story is engaging and his characters are vivid, his lack of punctuation often makes it hard to follow who is talking. We’ll be reading Jackie Collins and Linda L. Miller this fall so I’ll be checking out their books and of course, I’ve downloaded ’50 Shades of Gray’ just to get my own take on the sensationalism I’m hearing from friends who’ve read the book.

Hope you enjoyed my take on things and now I’d like to treat you to an excerpt from my novel ‘Hannah’. You can qualify to win a free book this week and get entered to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate on July 29th just by leaving a comment here on Lynn’s blog with the answer to the following question. The pocket of Hannah’s ________ has been picked.

AUTHOR’S BIO

Sharon Poppen ( www.sharonpoppen.com ) has won awards from Arizona Authors Assoc. and National League of American Pen Women. Her western novels After the War, Before the Peace, Hannah and Abby-Finding More Than Gold are available at Amazon Books, most web based book sellers and from her website. Her work has appeared in such publications as A Flasher’s Dozen, Desert Treasures, Skive, Offerings from the Oasis, A Long Story Short,Apollo Lyre and Laughter Loaf. Her workshops on Journaling, Short Story Writing and Blogging bring rave reviews. Sharon is a member of Lake Havasu City Writer’s Group. Her gay/sci-fi novel Regardless will be available in print and ebook the fall of 2012.

List of Published Novels

After the War, Before the Peace

Hannah

Abby-Finding More Than Gold

Regardless (due out fall 2012)

Chapter 18 – Finding Hope – Hannah has been rescued by Liam, the man who loves her, but it had nearly cost Liam his life. Hannah nursed him through his injuries while she waited for his brothers to come and get him.)

A rap on the hotel room door brought Hannah out of a light sleep. She opened it to find a worried Daniel.

“Come in,” she smiled, trying to allay his concern.

“Damn.” Daniel swore as he rushed over to the bed and looked down at his brother’s battered face. “What happened? Is he …”

Hannah moved to stand beside Daniel and touched his arm. “He’s alive. He’s sleeping. The doctor gave him laudanum for sleep while his body heals.

“When did this happen?”

“Two nights ago. We found the men who killed my husband.”

Daniel had been looking at his brother, but at Hannah’s words he turned and asked, “you’re not hurt?”

“They only hurt Liam, because he was helping me.”

“Where are they now?”

“One’s dead, but one got away.”

“Liam’s going to be alright?”

“When the laudanum wears off, he’s aware of what happened and his mind seems clear. But, the doctor says he has some broken ribs and multiple bruising.”

“When the deputy arrived at Aunt Emiliana’s ranch, all he said was that Liam needed either Frank or me and to hurry.”

“Thank you for coming, Daniel.” Hannah walked to the door. “When he wakes up, he’ll feel better just seeing you.”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hannah, I don’t understand.”

“Liam will explain.”

Daniel moved to stand between Hannah and the door. “My brother stayed to help you. Looks like he took a hell of a beating, for you. Stay until he wakes up. You owe him.”

“Who’s leaving?”

Liam’s voice startled them.

“Hannah,” Daniel answered.

Liam struggled to sit up, grimacing several times with the effort. “Why?”

Hannah shook her head. “Liam, lie down.”

Muttering a curse, he swung his feet to the floor.

Hannah rushed over and tried to force him back onto the bed.

Liam gripped her hand. “Don’t leave.”

“I have to. Please, don’t make this hard. Daniel’s here to take care of you.”

“Why do you have to leave?” Liam asked.

Hannah backed away. “Liam, I’m empty. It’s like the pocket of my future has been picked. All hope has been taken from me. I have no money, no clothes and worst of all no emotions, other than hate. I’m alone, stranded from decent folks. I’m no good. You’ve seen my body.” She walked into the hall, turned and whispered, “I must go.”

Daniel and Liam looked on in disbelief. Liam tried to stand, but his bruised legs buckled. Daniel helped him back into bed.

“Go get her.” Liam begged.

Alone in the room, Liam waited. He cursed his legs for their weakness to avoid thinking the unthinkable; Hannah was gone. One look at Daniel’s face when he reentered the room and Liam knew the unthinkable was upon him.

Daniel shook his head as he came over to the bed. He touched Liam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. She’s gone.”

“No!” Liam moaned.

Daniel grabbed some laudanum from the bureau and urged Liam to take some. “You need to heal. Once you get your strength back, you can decide what to do.”

Liam looked at Daniel’s offering and then at the opened door. “Hannah,” he whispered as if in prayer. Finally, he turned to Daniel. “Give me the damn stuff.”

It’s the Best Ever Summer Blog Tour. Nine fabulous authors in mixed genres trading blog space for eight weeks for your enjoyment. It’s a chance to meet great authors and discover exciting new books. Someone on the blog tour is giving a prize every week – I’ll leave it for you to discover whose blog is featured – with more prizes to come at the end of the tour. What will the big prize be – a Kindle, a hefty gift certificate, a unique needlepoint Kindle cover? Enjoy the blogs and leave comments for the opportunity to be the grand prize winner!

Ann Tracy Marr is the world’s worst book promoter. She has published three, but when it comes time to promote – to urge someone to lay out money for her books – she falls apart.

Ann lacks promoting talent but she does have a gift for storytelling. She writes for the love of it and it shows. Her view of life is a little off the wall, sometimes class clown, but with an underlying thread of realism. She likes to read about real women looking for joy, so that is what she writes.

Knowing we wouldn’t learn much about her books, I asked Ann questions that would reveal something about her approach to writing and life.

Question: Who was the toughest character for you to “get right”?

Ann: The hero in Round Table Magician took a long time to evolve. Brinston started out as a conventional Regency hero, but when I added a paranormal twist to the plot, he demanded he be a magician. Magic fit with his reclusive tendencies, giving him reasons to hide his true nature from the ton. Other than that, I struggled to cleverly convey his motives in ignoring Martha. It was a matter of finding the best tailoring for the story. Once the jacket fit, Brinston himself filled it out.

Question: Is there a genre that you love to read but don’t want to write?

Ann: I love the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Funny and all about vampires, you know. But I doubt I will ever write a vampire novel. I don’t have anything to add to their mystique; they scare more than attract me.

Question: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Ann: I would make an excellent Rich Bitch. It’s a full time job, but I wouldn’t mind getting up at 10 am, donning the haute couture uniform, jetting past rush hour traffic in my Maserati on my way to a five star restaurant. I’d donate freely to charity and spend money all over the place to keep the economy going.

Question: Can you tell us about your books?

Ann: Awestruck published my three book series set in Regency England. King Arthur and Merlin are not myth, but history. They are traditional Regencies with the addition of a splash of magic.

Brinston watched Martha, aware of her every breath. He couldn’t help but smile at the infectious levity. He could see his brother Michael with his beloved through the window. That silly Maria must have done or said something to make Martha laugh so. But when she pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her eyes, it shook him to his soul. Just so did the duchess leak tears when she was filled with mirth.

It was then he realized how much Martha resembled his adored mother. Brinston could almost feel his heart tightening. They were silken bonds, those bands clenching around his heart, not painful in the least. A man could get used to them, which was a good thing. They didn’t feel like they were going to dissolve any time soon.

He heard the echo of his father’s words. “I couldn’t resist the way she laughed.” It was always said with a chuckle and an underlying honesty that couldn’t be doubted. It was why his father had married his mother. They were devoted to each other, but it all started with her laugh.

Everyone, including Brinston himself, joked at how much the son resembled the father. He stared at the sky, silently begging Merlin to have pity on him.